The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra with a remit to serve the South and South West of England. Founded in 1893, the BSO has developed a reputation as one of the UK's major orchestras and has worked with many of the world's leading composers, conductors and performers. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979.[1]

In 2014, the Orchestra was voted the winner in Bachtrack’s World’s Favourite Orchestra 2014 poll. Over the course of a month, readers submitted their votes, with 11,613 taking part. 383 different orchestras in over 40 different countries were nominated.[2]

The Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra was founded in 1893 by Dan Godfrey as a group of 30 wind players and a drummer, though several of the instrumentalists – as is the current practice with military musicians – were proficient in both wind and string instruments.[3] This flexible approach meant that the musicians could form a military band for open-air concerts (playing on Bournemouth Pier) or a more formal classical ensemble for indoor programmes. The group gave its first concert on Whit Monday 1893 at the Winter Gardens, with its first classical concert in October that year.

The band quickly expanded to become a full orchestra, gaining a reputation for championing British music. Edward Elgar and Gustav Holst (among others) conducted the orchestra in their own works. The orchestra gave the UK premieres of major works by Richard Strauss, Camille Saint-Saëns and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. On 14 December 1903, the Orchestra gave its 500th symphony concert, conducted by Godfrey; a souvenir booklet listed all the works played by the orchestra since its inception, noting any first performances.[4] The Bournemouth Municipal Choir, founded by Godfrey in 1911, sang regularly with the orchestra.

From 1922 (to 1940) an Easter Festival was an important feature in the Bournemouth calendar; in 1927 the Festival was devoted to music of British women composers. In 1934, Godfrey retired as principal conductor, having conducted over 2,000 symphony concerts.[5]

The first recording by the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra was made in 1914 and occasional records were issued during Godfrey's tenure: Godfrey's recordings included works such as Ferdinand Hérold's overture to Zampa, Daniel Auber's overtures The Bronze Horse and The Crown Diamonds, or Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Petite Suite de Concert, along with "novelty items" with titles such as 'Slippery Sticks' and 'Whispering Pines' by members of the orchestra and featuring them as soloists.

Godfrey remains the longest serving principal conductor of the orchestra, and his stewardship ensured that, unlike many of the seaside orchestras that functioned from the end of the 19th century up until the outbreak of World War II, the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra established an ongoing tradition of music making. Godfrey's programmes mixed populist elements, such as variety acts and light music, with extracts from more serious pieces. Alongside these, he instituted a series of symphony concerts which introduced diverse repertoire. He cultivated connections with most of the prominent British composers of the day including Edward Elgar, Hamilton Harty, Alexander Mackenzie, Hubert Parry, Charles Villiers Stanford, Ethel Smyth, Gustav Holst and the Australian Percy Grainger.[6]

From the very beginning, Godfrey had a difficult relationship with the Bournemouth Borough Council who saw the orchestra as a commercial concern which needed to pay its way. As part of Bournemouth's visitor attractions, any request for expansion of the orchestra or changes to their contracts were the subject of exhaustive debates in the Council chamber.[3] However, in general, Godfrey was successful at balancing both high artistic standards and box-office success.

After Godfrey's retirement, the task of sustaining the orchestra fell to Richard Austin. Radio broadcasts took place from the Pavilion and a number of celebrated composers visited during this time, including Igor Stravinsky, William Walton, Ernest John Moeran, Sergei Rachmaninov, Roger Quilter, Balfour Gardiner and Percy Grainger. At the outbreak of war, the orchestra was cut from 61 to 35, and then in 1940 to only 24 players. Austin resigned in the same year and Montague Birch helped keep the orchestra going during the war, giving many 'popular' concerts. Whilst the Municipal Orchestra struggled in a depleted state, the war years saw concerts in the town by the Wessex Philharmonic, a freelance orchestra conducted by Reginald Goodall, which included some ex-members of the BMO.

After the end of the war, the orchestra found a new home at the 'new' Winter Gardens. In 1947, Rudolf Schwarz was appointed Musical Director of a re-formed orchestra of 60. He conducted the orchestra in its first concert in London since 1911, at the Royal Albert Hall in 1948, and in two concerts at the Royal Festival Hall during the Festival of Britain in 1951. Schwarz's tenure was marked by artistic consolidation, but also financial troubles.

Charles Groves took over as Musical Director in 1951, but a rising annual deficit and termination of players' contracts caused a crisis, averted only by support from the Winter Gardens Society. In 1952, a plan to merge the BMO with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra was avoided by an arrangement with the Arts Council for the orchestra to accompany Welsh National Opera for several weeks. The continuation of the orchestra was only secured by the formation of the Western Orchestral Society. In 1954, the orchestra changed its name to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. At the inaugural concert, Groves and Sir Thomas Beecham shared the podium.[7]

Recent releases on BBC Legends, transferred from recordings of live concerts given at the Winter Gardens and elsewhere during Silvestri's tenure, provide a vivid record of the orchestra's style in this era. These include accounts of Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony and Elgar's Enigma Variations.

In addition to its roster of principal conductors, other conductors affiliated with the orchestra have included George Hurst, who served as de facto principal conductor from 1969 to 1972, between the tenures of Silvestri and Paavo Berglund, without having been formally appointed to the post. Hurst ensured continuity during that conductorial interregnum.

Paavo Berglund's tenure as principal conductor from 1972 to 1979 included commercial recordings such as the complete symphonies of Jean Sibelius for EMI. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Paavo Berglund made the world premiere recording of the Kullervo Symphony by Jean Sibelius. Berglund led Sibelius Centenary Concerts with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in 1965, and became the principal conductor in 1972, concluding his tenure in 1979. Berglund led the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with distinction, significantly raising the performing standards, as can be heard from the many recordings made by it for EMI. During this period Nordic repertoire became a staple of the orchestra.

Remembrances from the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (http://www.bsolive.com): Berglund’s performances and recordings of Sibelius with the BSO are legendary and his death was announced as the orchestra played Sibelius' Fifth Symphony with Kirill Karabits (who himself worked with Paavo in Budapest). The music parts being used by the BSO are the ones used by Paavo himself, and the orchestra dedicated its concerts on 26 January in Cheltenham, and 27 January at Portsmouth Guildhall to his memory.

Roger Preston, Co-Principal Cello, who worked with Paavo on many occasions, said "Anyone who played with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in the largest wooden church in the world, Kerimäki Church, Finland, as part of the BSO’s 1981 tour will tell that it was a truly unforgettable experience. On this tour we played all the Sibelius' Symphonies, with Paavo on spectacular form. This particular concert featured Sibelius' Fourth Symphony plus the Violin Concerto played superbly by Ida Haendel.

"I joined the BSO in 1979, as much because I had seen and heard them play under Berglund and knew that he (and they!) were quite exceptional. Many of Paavo’s comments, criticisms and demands are as fresh in my mind as though it were only yesterday.

"He remains, for me one of the best, if not the best conductor that I have ever played for and am so grateful to have caught the latter days of Paavo’s extraordinarily fruitful relationship with the BSO. For any string players reading this, I particularly loved it when he used to say, “violins, you play like in a telephone booth”, i.e. use much more bow!".

Edward Greenfield wrote in a review of a concert by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Paavo Berglund in The Guardian in 1972, that the brilliantly richfull strings left behind many interpretations from London. (Finnish translation from Vesa Sirens book "Finnish Conductors", ISBN 978-951-1-21303-1).

Newspaper Helsingin Sanomat told in their 80th year birthday interview of Paavo Berglund that his one time assistant from Bournemouth, Simon Rattle, calls him "one of the last great", and uses Berglund's bowings in his Sibelius performances, like many other superstars. The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra always gets very suspicious when a visiting maestro wants to change Paavo's Sibelius markings. The visiting maestro is silenced by saying that the markings are Sibelius'.

Rudolf Barshai served as the BSO's principal conductor from 1982 to 1988. His BSO recordings included the Symphony No. 8 of Dmitri Shostakovich, and a Gramophone Award-winning release of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2 from 1988.

The American conductor Andrew Litton first conducted the BSO in 1986,[8] and subsequently became the BSO's principal conductor from 1988 to 1994, the first American principal conductor of the orchestra.[9] Litton subsequently was named the BSO's Conductor Laureate. His recordings with the BSO include William Walton's symphonies and concertos for Decca, and the complete Tchaikovsky symphonies (including the Manfred Symphony) for Virgin Classics. In February 1997 Litton's recording of Walton's Belshazzar's Feast with the BSO, Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and soloist Bryn Terfel won a Grammy Award.

Yakov Kreizberg was principal conductor from 1995 to 2000. Whilst he made no commercial recordings with the orchestra, he and the BSO toured the United States, including their debut at Carnegie Hall in April 1997.[10] Kreizberg and the BSO also performed a 3-day residency at the Musikverein, Vienna in 1999.

Marin Alsop, principal conductor from September 2002 to 2008, was the BSO's first female principal conductor and the first female principal conductor of a UK orchestra.[11] Her time with the orchestra continued the programming of American repertoire from Litton's tenure, which she often introduced to the audience from the podium in the style of her mentor Leonard Bernstein. She conducted all of the Mahler symphonies except the Symphony No. 8. She and the BSO recorded several CDs for Naxos, both European and American repertoire.[12][13]

In November 2007, the BSO announced the appointment Kirill Karabits as their 13th Principal Conductor, the first Ukrainian principal conductor of a UK orchestra.[14] Karabits held the title of orchestra's Principal Conductor-Designate for the 2008–2009 season, and became Principal Conductor with the 2009–2010 season.[15] With the BSO, Karabits made his first conducting appearance at The Proms in August 2009.[16]

The BSO's first commercial recording with Karabits (of Rodion Shchedrin's Concertos for Orchestra Nos 4 and 5) was released on the Naxos label in April 2010. The BSO and Karabits have also recorded music of Aram Khachaturian for the Onyx label.[17] In August 2011, the BSO extended Karabits' contract as principal conductor through the 2015–2016 season.[18][19] In April 2015, the BSO announced that Karabits had signed a rolling contract as its principal conductor, to extend his tenure to a minimum date of 2018.[20][21]

The president of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Council is David Mellor.

In 1968, the Bournemouth Sinfonietta was founded, with a complementary remit to tour the smaller towns of the south and west, as well as concentrating on classial repertoire. Despite artistic acclaim throughout its history, financial difficulties and funding withdrawals led to its sudden closure in November 1999.[22][23] Since then, sections of the BSO occasionally tour to smaller venues in the south and west.

Kokoro is a contemporary music ensemble of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, consisting of players from the orchestra and freelance musicians (formed 1994).

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra currently gives around 150 concerts a year. In September 1995 the orchestra, conducted by Richard Hickox, was the first to give a complete concert cycle of the symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams.[24]

The orchestra recorded a complete cycle of the Tippett symphonies for Chandos, the Vaughan Williams symphonies for Naxos (with Kees Bakels for seven of the symphonies and Paul Daniel for A Sea Symphony and the 4th). The orchestra has also recorded for Naxos a complete series of the symphonies of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.

A core part of the Orchestra's mission is its work beyond the concert hall. Reaching communities throughout the South and South West, the Orchestra organises activities ranging from inspirational workshops in schools to special performances in care homes.

In addition to the first acoustic recordings by the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra in 1914, early mass media activities included radio broadcasts from the original Winter Gardens on 2LO in the 1920s. Subsequently the BMO gave regular concerts on the BBC, including Godfrey's farewell concert. The Pathé archive contains short films of the orchestra conducted by Dan Godfrey and Richard Austin made at the Pavilion Theatre in 1930 and 1937.

In 1963, the nave of Winchester Cathedral was cleared for the first time in several hundred years to enable a live television broadcast of the orchestra, conducted by Constantin Silvestri, performing Wagner's "Good Friday Music" from Parsifal.[3]

The orchestra were featured in a short-lived series of programmes on the local commercial radio station 2CR. Members of the orchestra and Bournemouth Symphony Chorus recorded a jingle for the Yellow Buses, Bournemouth's local bus company.

^The document also included a preface by Godfrey about the origins of the orchestra, a record of the players in 1903, and photos of the orchestra. Arts and Humanities Research Council, Concerprogrammes.org.uk, accessed 30.8.08